The Madness is upon us- the March Madness that is the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Carmichael Patch asked members of the Jesuit High School basketball team for their picks. What are yours?
For the first time, there were four play-in games Tuesday and Wednesday but today, the real tournament field of 64 begins with games through Sunday before the Sweet 16 becomes the Elite 8 becomes the Final Four and so on.
Here is what Jesuit representatives had to say:
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"Ohio State, Duke, Notre Dame and St. John's. I have Duke to win it all. I'm a huge Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski) fan. His teams always play hard, are well-prepared and seem to peak this time of year." - Chris Fahey, athletic director
"Kansas, UConn (Connecticut), Ohio State, and Gonzaga. I have Kansas because they are the most athletic team in the NCAA, (are) strong with the ball, and (are) playing with a chip on their shoulder." -Alex DiManno, senior guard
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"Kansas, Duke, Syracuse, Michigan State. I think Duke will 2-peat (repeat as national champions), even though I don't want them to, because they are pretty deep and when they make runs they are hard to beat."- Akachi Okugo, junior guard
"Kansas, UConn, Gonzaga and North Carolina. (My pick is) Kansas because a team with twins (Marcus and Markieff Morris) is just fun to watch and they choked last year (losing in the second Round to Northern Iowa) so it's redemption time." -Meena Zaki, senior and team manager
Editor's Note: I am a proud alumnus of Georgetown. How far the Hoyas will go depends on how much guard Chris Wright is able to play following an injury. Right now, I have G.U., a no. 6 seed, making the Elite 8 where they will fall in a close game to top-seeded Kansas, which happens to be my brother-in-law's alma mater. So my Final Four picks are Kansas, Washington, Connecticut and Michigan State. Kansas will win the championship because they are the most complete team and, having seen them play in person at California in December, I feel that they can win close games.
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